27 celebrities who attended Alabama high schools

Think you know which famous people have attended Alabama high schools? A few of these may surprise you.

Don't Edit

Kelly Kazek | kkazek@al.com

Before we begin: Yes, I know there are more than 27 famous people who attended high schools in Alabama. This is a random list of people I found interesting. If you know of others, feel free to email me at kkazek@al.com and tell me the name of the person and which school. If I get enough, I'll do another list.

Don't Edit

(Source: Left, Miles College; right, AL.com)

1. Willie Mays, baseball great

Born May 6, 1931, in Westfield, Ala. Attended Fairfield Industrial High School.

Mays was a two-time MLB MVP and was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame.

Remember: This is NOT meant to be an all-inclusive list. If you know of others, feel free to email me at kkazek@al.com and tell me the name of the person and which school. If I get enough, I’ll do another list.

Don't Edit

(AL.com File photos)

2. Jim Nabors, actor, singer

Born June 12, 1930, in Sylacauga. Attended Sylacauga High School, where he was in the glee club.

Best known for his role as Gomer Pyle on "The Andy Griffith Show" and "Gomer Pyle: USMC." He has recorded numerous albums.

Don't Edit

(Publicity photo via AL.com)

3. Octavia Spencer, Oscar-winning actress

Born May 25, 1970, in Montgomery, where she attended Jefferson Davis High School.

Won an Academy Award for her role in "The Help." Also had roles in movies such as "Hidden Figures," "Beauty Shop," "Bad Santa," and numerous TV shows. She is also the author of books for young readers about Randi Rhodes, Ninja Detective.

Don't Edit

Don't Edit

AL.com File Photo

4. John Denver, singer

Born Henry John Deutschendorf Jr. in Roswell, N.M., Dec. 31, 1943. John Denver died in a plane crash in 1997. Started Bellingrath Junior High School in Montgomery in 1957, beginning in ninth grade which was then part of junior high, according to a former classmate. His Air Force father was based in Montgomery for a year or two, according to the biography "John Denver: Mother Nature's Son."

Best known for hits such as “Take Me Home, Country Roads,” “Leaving on a Jet Plane,” “Sunshine on My Shoulders,” and “Rocky Mountain High.”

****UPDATED to correct the fact that Denver started ninth grade in junior high school rather than high school.

Born July 22, 1934, in Birmingham. Attended Ramsay High School in Birmingham.

Won an Academy Award for her portrayal of Nurse Ratched in 1975's "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest." Later had roles in such films as "Cruel Intentions" and "Firestarter."

Don't Edit

(AL.com File Photos)

8. Lucas Black, actor

Born Nov. 29, 1982, at Decatur General Hospital but his parents lived in Speake in Lawrence County. He attended Speake High School, where he played football, baseball, basketball and golf.

He is known for his roles in "Sling Blade," "Jarhead," "Fast and Furious 3," and "Friday Night Lights." He is currently starring in TV's "NCIS: New Orleans."

Don't Edit

Don't Edit

(Source: Taylor-Smith Abaca Press)

9. Sunny Mabrey, actress, model

Born Nov. 28, 1975, in Gadsden and moved with her family to Rainbow City at age 4. She attended Southside High School.

She was a model and has had roles in TV shows such as “Desperate Housewives” and “Mad Men,” and movies including “xXx: State of the Union” and "Snakes on a Plane.”

Don't Edit

(AL.com File Photo)

10. Charles Barkley, basketball star, sports analyst

Born Feb. 20, 1963, in Leeds and attended Leeds High School. (It was a Jefferson County school at the time and became part of the newly created Leeds City School system in 2003).

Earned 11 NBA All-Star games and was All-Star MVP in 1991. Won two gold medals as part of the men's Olympics basketball team.

Don't Edit

Netflix/courtesy Everett Collection

11. Reg E. Cathey, actor

Born Aug. 18, 1958, in Huntsville, where he attended J.O. Johnson High School, which closed in 2016.

Cathey is best known for roles in films such as "Seven," "American Psycho" and "SWAT."

Don't Edit

AL.com File Photo

12. George Lindsey, actor, film festival founder

Born Dec. 17, 1928 in Fairfield, Ala., but grew up Jasper, where he attended Walker County High School, graduating 1946. He played on the football team and was voted "funniest boy."

He is best known for his role as Goober Pyle in TV's "The Andy Griffith Show," and as a regular on "Hee Haw." He founded the George Lindsey Film Festival at the University of North Alabama, where he played football and graduated in 1952.

Born Sept. 21, 1944, in Birmingham, where she attended Ramsay High School.

She is best known for writing the novel and screenplay for "Fried Green Tomatoes," in which she also acted. She was starred in films such as "Five Easy Pieces" and was a comedian who was a regular on the game show Match Game. She is the author of nine novels.

Don't Edit

Don't Edit

(Source: Richard Foreman/Fox)

14. Clayne Crawford, actor

Born April 20, 1978, in Clay, Ala. He graduated from Hewitt-Trussville High School.

He is known for movies such as "Baytown Outlaws" and "A Love Song for Bobby Lee" and is currently starring as Martin Riggs in Fox TV's "Lethal Weapon."

Don't Edit

(Source: Publicity photo via Beetlejuice Wiki)

15. Glenn Shadix, actor

Born April 15, 1952, in Bessemer and died in 2010. When he was a child, his family moved to Jasper, where he attended Walker County High School.

He is best known for his role as Otho in "Beetlejuice," and also appeared in such films as "Planet of the Apes" and "Demolition Man."

Don't Edit

AL.com File Photos

16. Harper Lee, Pulitzer Prize-winning author

Born Nelle Harper Lee April 28, 1926, in Monroeville, where she attended Monroe County High School. Died in 2016. She won the Pulitzer for "To Kill a Mockingbird" and released her second book in 2015, "Go Set a Watchman."

Don't Edit

(AL.com File Photo)

17. Pat Buttram, actor, voice artist

Born June 19, 1915, in Addison, Ala., and attended Mortimer Jordan High School in Morris. Died in 1994.

Best known for his role as Mr. Haney on the TV show "Green Acres." Also did voice work in numerous animated films such as "The Artistocats" and "The Rescuers."

Don't Edit

(Publicity photo from IMDb)

18. Albert Hall, actor

Born Nov. 10, 1937, in Brighton, where he attended Brighton High School, which has since been converted to a K-5 school.

Known for portraying Chief Phillips in "Apocalypse Now," and also had roles in soap operas and films such as "Malcolm X" and "National Treasure: Book of Secrets."

Don't Edit

Don't Edit

(AL.com File)

19. Bart Starr, renowned NFL quarterback

Born Jan. 9, 1934, in Montgomery, where he attended Lanier High School.

He was quarterback and later coach for the Green Bay Packers and won the Lombardi Trophy. He is a co-founder of the Rawhide Boys Ranch.

Don't Edit

AL.com File Photo

20. Bo Jackson, multi-sport athlete

Born Nov. 30, 1962, in Bessemer, where he attended McAdory High School.

He won the Heisman Trophy while playing football at Auburn University and was named an all-star in both football and baseball.

Don't Edit

AL.com File Photos

21. Courteney Cox, actress

Born June 15, 1964, in Mountain Brook. She was a cheerleader at Mountain Brook High School.

Born Feb. 13, 1956, in Mobile, where he attended Davidson High School.

His 122 acting credits in TV and movies include roles in "Moonlighting," "Black Hawk Down" and "Two Moon Junction."

Don't Edit

Don't Edit

Publicity photo via AL.com

24. Nell Carter, actress, singer

Born Sept. 13, 1948 in Birmingham, where she attended A.H. Parker High School. Died in 2003.

Best known for her role as Nell Harper on TV's "Gimme a Break!" and film roles such as "The Grass Harp."

Don't Edit

(Photo courtesy of Dave Allocca/Starpix)

25. Kim Dickens, actress

Born June 18, 1965, in Huntsville, where she attended Lee High School and was named a senior class favorite.

She has had numerous TV and film roles. She currently stars in TV's "Fear the Walking Dead." She has had film roles in "Gone Girl," "Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children," "The Blind Side," "House of Sand and Fog." Her next film is about Lizzie Borden, called "Lizzie," due out later in 2017.

Don't Edit

AL.com File Photos

26. Michael Papajohn, actor, stuntman, speaker

Born Nov. 7, 1964, in Birmingham. He graduated from Vestavia Hills High in 1983, where he was a star baseball player.

He is known for roles in films such as "The Bourne Legacy," "Spider-Man," "Dawn of the Planet of the Apes," and "Jurassic World."

Don't Edit

Lara Cerri

27. Jimmy Wales, Wikipedia founder

Born Aug. 7, 1966, in Huntsville, where he attended Randolph School.

He was a co-founder of Wikipedia and now serves on boards of the Wikimedia Foundation and Creative Commons, among others. Check out his Wikipedia page.